The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the UniverseGamma-ray bursts are the most violent events since the birth of the universe. They are about ten times more energetic than the most powerful supernovae. At their peak, gamma-ray bursts are the brightest objects in space, about 100,000 times brighter than an entire galaxy. And yet until recently these titanic eruptions were the most mysterious events in astronomy. In The Biggest Bangs, astrophysicist Jonathan Katz offers a fascinating account of the scientific quest to unravel the mystery of these incredible phenomena. With an eye for colorful detail and a talent for translating scientific jargon into plain English, Katz ranges from the accidental discovery of gamma-ray bursts (by a Cold War satellite system monitoring the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty) to the frustrating but ultimately successful efforts to localize these bursts in distant galaxies. He describes the theories, the equipment (the most recent breakthrough was made with a telescope you could carry under your arm), and the pioneers who have finally begun to explain these strange bursts. And along the way, he offers important lessons about science itself, arguing that "small science" is as valuable as institutionalized "big science," that observations are more the product of advances in technology than of theory, and that theory is only "the concentrated essence of experiment." With the advent of the space age a mere 40 years ago, we have grown used to strangeness in the universe--and confident in science's ability to explain it. In The Biggest Bangs, Jonathan Katz shows that there are still wonders out there that exceed the bounds of our imagination and defy our ability to understand them. |
Contents
| 1 | |
1 Vela | 3 |
2 Detectors | 12 |
3 Where Are They? | 21 |
4 What Are They? | 29 |
5 Compactness | 40 |
6 The Large Magellanic Cloud | 50 |
7 False Lines | 60 |
12 The Great Debate | 116 |
13 The Theorists Turn | 126 |
14 Afterglows | 139 |
15 A Supernova Connection? | 152 |
16 The Holy Grail | 162 |
17 The End of the Beginning | 178 |
Afterword | 181 |
Appendix Did a Gammaray Burst Kill the Dinosaurs? Will a Burst Kill Us? | 185 |
Other editions - View all
The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-ray Bursts, the Most Violent ... Jonathan I. Katz Limited preview - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
accelerated accretion afterglow appeared astronomical objects Astrophysical Journal astrophysicists atoms BATSE binary black hole brightness camera collide comets cosmic cosmological distances cyclotron cyclotron radiation density detect detectors direction discovered discovery distribution Earth electrons emitted energetic energy entropy ergs estimate faint field of view Figure fireball debris flashes fraction frequency galactic galaxy gamma-ray bursts GROCSE hypernova instruments intensity interplanetary network interstellar known Large Magellanic Cloud large number launched light-years Lorentz factors magnetic field magnetic neutron stars magnitude mass matter measured million moving NASA neutron stars nuclear observed optical orbits particles photographs physical physicist plasma positions possible power law predicted produced protons pulsars quasars ray bursts redshift relativistic result rotating ROTSE roughly scientists shock models soft gamma repeaters solar system space spectral lines spectrum speed of light statistical superburst supernova remnant synchrotron radiation telescopes turbulence Vela satellites visible counterparts visible light wavelengths waves X-ray
Popular passages
Page 199 - For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Page ix - The purpose of this book is to tell the story of how we arrived at this dynamic era in our history.
Page i - The Biggest Bangs: The Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts, the Most Violent Explosions in the Universe, by Jonathan I.